“Well, we travel mostly for him. He visits the various cities and indulges in their smoke and mushrooms. We all do.”
Keane stills and gives me a look of visible disbelief.
“I swear it’s for the mind,” I turn and tell the Prince, “King Zander is studying the effects that the mushrooms have on both humans and Discerni. But sometimes things turn physical…”
Lord Daniel awkwardly shifts in his seat, the full of him so uncomfortable by the situation that he decides to down the rest of his own toddy. I laugh out loud at the sight and look back at Keane, the Prince still staring at me in disbelief and at a genuine loss for words.
“Oh!” I double over in laughter, unable to get over the looks on their faces, “Ancients, you’re both too easy! Mushrooms? Really?”
Lord Daniel gives me a look of bewilderment before he starts to catch on. He smiles at me in surprise while Keane…
Ancients.
If I ever thought the Prince’s eyes couldn’t alight with more playfulness, I was completely wrong. His whole demeanor shifts from awkward disbelief to wild mischief in a brief moment, his gaze landing on my laughing lips as he begins to understand the full of the conversation that just took place.
“A valiant effort, truly, Your Highness,” I nod in amusement, “but I think I know exactlywhat kind of game I’m playing.”
Keane’s hearty laugh startles the full of the court, the sound echoing off the walls and pulling every head in the room in our direction. He leans into my chair with a look that tells me he wants to kiss me senseless, as if he’s finally appreciating the truth of the moment.
“Trouble,” he grins near my ear, “you’re puretrouble,Alexis.”
I spend the early evening with Cal, Holis and Mana, the four of us sitting at the corner of the head table and watching the court unfold. Cal quickly found his hands on a pipe the moment dinner ended and has been smoking ever since, while Mana has been engaging in a quiet conversation with a Warrior Discerni about his kedge. Holis sits at my side and contently watches over the crowd, while Golem is somewhere behind us hiding against the wall, his presence felt but rarely seen.
After the multiple toddies I had taken with the Prince I ended up settling on water for a bit. Yes, I was a great drinker and could hold my own, but I also knew my limits and when I had reached a point when I needed to slow down. Keane’s taunt about lasting through the night was on repeat in my mind, and I had the distinct feeling that even though we were creeping towards the midnight apex, the night had only just begun. The court was already different from anything in Knowledge I had ever experienced, and I wanted to be sober enough and in my right mind to experience it all.
Whenever the King and Queen held court in Bardot, it was an enjoyable evening that always stopped short of getting rowdy. The large receiving room that was used just off the side of the Great Oak was serene, the full of it set up with round tables that hosted smaller groupings, their tops adorned with beautiful white roses that were curtesy of the Queen and her garden. Dinner always kicked off with a single downing of whiskey, then the King and Queen would lead us all out to the largest veranda for more drinks after we filled our stomachs. We’d stay under the stars until the room had been cleared and then move back inside to a series of simple dances, and if you weren’t dancing then you were enjoying the night in conversation, gossiping and talking about the lands and its politics over even more drinks and smoke.
They were beautiful nights that were enjoyed by all, but they were a far cry from what I was experiencing at this Warrior court.
Where Bardot’s court sparkles with the pretty bottled moonslight that accentuates all the vines and trees within the room, Castle Gaumond and this room open up to the night sky above us, its black walls lined with torches as it bravely tries to pierce the sky. Where Bardot has open verandas and sparkling glass windows, Gaumond closes itself in, forcing everyone to interact under its glittering black mass with the sky above being the only window needed. Dark sweeping pines lean against those black walls, their tops beckoning to the moons and met with the rising smoke from the large fireplaces below. The tables are made from a thick and sturdy wood to anticipate the hardship against them, and where Bardot’s round tables are dainty and littered with white roses, Gaumond’s are carved purposely to look like the trees from the daunting forest that surrounds the city.
Everything about this dark and smokey court is different from my own, but that contrast is never so prevalent than when I look out at the people who make it so.
Three large barrels of ale and two barrels of toddy were rolled into the middle of the room shortly after dinner, the sight prompting the whole of the court to bang their mugs against their tables in cheer once again. Apparently, and what I found out from Keane before we parted ways, court tonight won’t come to an end until all of the barrels were empty of their drink.
I stared at him in disbelief when he told me while the people of Warrior didn’t even bat an eye.
Thus began ourrealnight of court and the heavy drink that followed. Women sat on men’s laps in open flirtation and heavy intimacy, hands engaging everywhere and between everyone like it was the most natural thing to do. Some of the touches were as innocent as clasps on the backs or mugs held to someone’s lips as they had them down a full ale, but others were as sensual as hands that reached beneath riding pants and dresses, the sultry smiles that accompanied them passed around like coin. Nearly half of the room was engaged in pipe, a haze that became thicker as the night went on, and there’s been too many arm-wrestling matches than I even care to count.
I’ve also never seen so much gambling in my life as both Discerni and humans wagered kisses on top of their cinerin as they rolled their dice. Men took off their shirts and let their hardened muscles glisten in sweat as they challenged eachother to different drinking games, while the women all fawned over those men and urged them on, promising a night they’d never forget.
And that’s not counting all the drink that flowed from the barrels like water. Two large settees were brought into the middle of the room after dinner alongside the barrels, their seats angled directly towards the drink and forming a centralized meeting space for people to gather. That space quickly became the life of the room after the first round of drinks, with the large crowds either dancing to the lively music that was playing near the entry doors or chatting around the easy access to drink as they celebrated a night worth remembering.
The court was an absolute party of no presumptions, and everyone, Discerniandhumans alike, engaged in that sentiment together.
The hub near the barrels is where the Prince sits now, his whole demeanor relaxed and looking around his court in appreciation as he chats with everyone who passes him by. Desmond is with him too, sitting just as relaxed on the same settee but at the opposite end. There’s a woman between the two of them who is strikingly beautiful, her skin matching that of Holis and Mana’s and her blue eyes breathtaking from afar.
Her long dark hair is braided in multiple rows that fall down her back in Discerni fashion, though surprisingly, she looks to be human. Her black dress reveals a thin but curving body, her chest angled towards theMaster Informer in open desire as she chats with him. Desmond has been grinning at the woman for quite some time, only now choosing to make a move as he leans forwards and whispers something in her ear. The woman grins with a nod and stands up from her seat, letting the Master Informer take her hand and pull her into his lap. She laughs and moves both knees to the sides of his thighs, straddling him without any hesitation.
I watch the two of them from the corner of the room, completely transfixed. Never have I seen the Master Informer be so open and sensual, the man quite literally has a reputation for scaring the people of Bardot away whenever he visits. His demeanor now is different, though, thoroughly laced with desire, and as he sits on the settee with a beautiful woman straddling his lap, there’s definitely no hint of the cool and hard man I’ve gotten used to at the capitol.
I watch as Desmond brings both hands to the woman’s hips and pulls her into his body, whispering in her ear once again. She nods suggestively and throws both of her arms around his neck, her hips rolling into his as the Master Informer leans back with a satisfied smirk. The two of them start grinding on each other, their embrace so natural that it pays tribute to the shameless atmosphere of this court, and if him and the woman ended up fucking on the settee, I truly wouldn’t be surprised, nor do I think I’d be able to look away.
The feel of heated eyes on my own body prompts me to glance slowly at the owner. Prince Keane is watching me as I watch his brother, a sensual smile creeping on his lips. He lifts a brow and gives me a knowing look, chuckling when I roll my eyes at him in return. I try to act nonchalant, as if watching a couple nearly having sex in front of me is normal, but the playful look he gives back tells me he sees right through it.
Come join me,he mouths, tilting his head towards the barrels.
His eyes hold mine in another challenge, one that has my heart kicking against my chest.
